Havana International Jazz Festival 2025
Take in the heart and soul of this colorful & cultural island: 40th Havana International Jazz Festival | Optional 3-night Pre-Tour Extension w/ Opening Jazz Performance
Overview
Style | Small Group TourTravel with a small, intimate group of no more than 16 likeminded travelers (and often much fewer), escorted by an English speaking guide and/or tour manager for some or all of your journey. (Some exceptions, including special promotional packages, may accommodate up to 30.) More of these packages
Dedicated tour escorts & guides throughout |
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Departures | January – February 2025 | Group Size | 30 travelers max |
Themes | Festivals, Bucket List, City Stays | ||
Activity Level | Moderate | ||
What to Expect | This fast-paced, escorted program includes a reasonable amount of walking and requires an average level of physical fitness. Be advised that the Jazz Festival concerts and events begin at 9PM. Travel safely and confidently with our new health & safety protocols. | ||
Already booked? | Find everything you need to know before you go, including information about passport & visa requirements, flights, luggage, and more. |
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Package includes
- Flights
- Coach
- Transfers
- Hotel
- Meals
- Guides
- Non-stop round trip flights from Miami to Havana, including taxes & fees
- Health insurance in Cuba, included in the cost of your airfare
- U.S. Treasury Department, OFAC License Certification
- Cuban Tourist Visa
- All land transportation & transfers in Cuba
- 5 nights 5-star hotel accommodations in Havana
- 11 meals: 5 breakfasts, 4 lunches & 2 dinners
- Comprehensive support for the Cuban people program, including entrance fees
- Professional, English-speaking guide
- VIP Jazz Festival Pass
Optional add-ons
- Flights from other cities are available. Request pricing when making your reservation
- Optional 3-night Pre Tour with access to the opening Jazz performance
Why you'll love it
- Immerse yourself in the lively atmosphere of the 40th Havana International Jazz Festival.
- Meet young jazz artists and learn about life in Cuba as an aspiring musician.
- Step into Cuba's world of dance with a private demonstration and lesson.
- Get hands-on during a traditional Cuban cooking class.
- Explore Old Havana’s architectural treasure trove and learn about the restoration efforts and improvement of social services to the community.
- Cruise the streets of Havana in a privately-owned classic American car.
- Enjoy several meals at Cuban paladares: small, family-run restaurants.
Itinerary at a Glance
Dates & Prices
Detailed Itinerary
Main Tour
Day 1 January 29, 2025: Depart USA
- Depart the USA on your flight to Havana, Cuba
- Tonight, enjoy the Jazz Festival performances
Hotel Grand Aston La Habana or similar
Full Day Itinerary¡Bienvenidos a La Habana! Upon arrival to Cuba's capital city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, our representative welcomes you with a Friendly Planet sign outside the arrivals terminal at the Havana Airport. Board your air-conditioned vehicle and transfer to your hotel.
Tonight, enjoy dinner on your own, and later, attend the Jazz Festival performances.
Day 2 January 30, 2025: Havana
- Walk through Old Havana and engage with and support Cuba's growing private business sector
- Enjoy a welcome lunch at a paladar (privately owned restaurant) in Old Havana
- Step into Cuba's world of dance with a private demonstration and lesson
- Tonight, enjoy the Jazz Festival performances
Hotel Grand Aston La Habana or similar Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Full Day ItineraryAfter breakfast, your expert guide will lead you on a leisurely walk through the labyrinthian streets of Old Havana. Immerse yourself in the vibrant colors of Cuba while walking along the cobblestone streets and explore the four beautiful plazas of the Old City – Plaza de Armas, Plaza San Francisco, Plaza Vieja, and Plaza de la Catedral - each a historic and architectural gem.
Step into Cuba's world of music and dance with a private dance class. First, experience Cuba's most traditional dances through a demonstration by your talented and personable teachers. Learn how important music and dancing are to life in Cuba. Then, learn the basic steps and try Cuban dancing for yourself.
Tonight, enjoy dinner with your fellow travelers, and later, attend the Jazz Festival performances.
Day 3 January 31, 2025: Havana
- Participate in a discussion on the history of Cuban Jazz
- Travel to Cojimar, the local fishing village that was the setting for Hemingway’s "The Old Man and the Sea"
- Enjoy a traditional Cuban cooking class , from gathering ingredients to putting them to use in the kitchen as you prepare your own lunch
- Explore Finca Vigía, Hemingway’s old home
- Tonight, enjoy the Jazz Festival performances
Hotel Grand Aston La Habana or similar Breakfast & lunch
Full Day ItineraryAfter breakfast, meet with a contemporary jazz musician and bass guitarist, David Faya, to discuss the rich history of Cuban Jazz.
Then, learn the secrets of the Cuban kitchen and participate in a traditional Cuban cooking class. Begin your experience by meeting the staff of the paladar, Café Ajiaco, who will guide you on your culinary journey. First, stop at the paladar’s “organopónico” (organic garden) to see where their products and ingredients grow. Pick some for yourself and bring them back to the restaurant to create your dishes. Then, the experienced chefs of Café Ajiaco will teach you the process of making some of Cuba’s most delicious traditional food and an authentic Cuban mojito, along with how to pair rum with cigars.
Later, venture out to Finca Vigía, where Hemingway lived and wrote his most famous novel, The Old Man and the Sea. At Finca Vigía, supported by independent organizations, meet the local caretakers as you walk the perimeter of the house. While entry to the house is not permitted, you'll get a clear view of the interior as you peer through the large windows to see how it was kept when he lived there. The walls are lined with bookshelves and covered with paintings, some of them depicting Hemingway on his African safaris. The heads of many of the animals he encountered and hunted are mounted in several rooms. Then, view the tower next to his house where he did much of his writing, and get a glimpse of his typewriter and fishing boat.
Tonight, enjoy dinner on your own, and later, attend the Jazz Festival performances.
Day 4 February 1, 2025: Havana
- Meet the talented car mechanics
- Take a ride in a classic American automobile to tour picturesque Havana in style
- Enjoy lunch at a local paladar
- Interact with members of the community project, Clave de Sol
- Tonight, enjoy the Jazz Festival performances
Hotel Grand Aston La Habana or similar Breakfast & lunch
Full Day ItineraryToday, meet the talented car mechanics that keep the antique cars running. Imagine the ingenuity mechanics have in keeping these original cars on the road, such as a ‘58 Ford powered by a Soviet Lada or Toyota engine!
Then, travel back in time as you tour the city in one of Havana’s classic American cars. Enjoy the picturesque views of Havana from your incredibly maintained automobile.
After lunch, visit the Clave de Sol community project, established by parents in the San Augustin neighborhood, to provide safe, wholesome after-school activities for their children. Children select among various string instruments and then learn to play them, performing Cuban and international music. Meet the young musicians and their teachers during your visit and hear them rehearsing for upcoming performances.
Tonight, enjoy dinner on your own, and later, attend the Jazz Festival performances.
Day 5 February 2, 2025: Havana
- Explore Callejon de Hamel
- Stop by the workshop of artist Beatriz Santacana
- Enjoy lunch at a local paladar
- Meet with Santa Amalia dancers
- Join your fellow travelers for a farewell dinner at a local paladar before attending the Jazz Festival closing ceremony
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Full Day ItineraryAfter breakfast, visit Callejon de Hamel, the shortest street in Havana, decorated with fanciful objects referencing Santería, an Afro-Cuban religion fusing African beliefs and Christianity. Marvel at the murals by one of Cuba’s most famous artists, the late Salvador Gonzáles Escalona. A local guide will help you explore the area, introduce you to some of the artwork on display and explain Santería's beliefs, customs, and how it is part of Cuban culture.
Then, visit the private home and art gallery of the independent artist Beatriz Santacana, whose unique ceramics, oils, and sculpture works are exhibited in Cuba and major cities worldwide.
After lunch, meet the enthusiastic jazz dancers of Santa Amalia. These dancers have been at it since the 1960s and are now joined by Havana's youth. Combined, they create some of Havana's most lively dance parties.
Tonight, enjoy a farewell dinner and later, attend the Jazz Festival closing event.
Day 6 February 3, 2025: Havana/USA
- Transfer to the airport and board your flight back to Miami
Breakfast
Optional Pre Tour: Jazz Festival Opening Ceremony and Las Terrazas
Take advantage of your already-included international airfare with a pre-tour extension to Las Terrazas! A "must-see" in Cuba, Las Terrazas is known worldwide for its postcard-worthy beauty. Meet with aspiring locals and enjoy a taste of an authentic way of life.
Day 1 January 26, 2025: Depart USA
- Depart the USA on your flight to Havana, Cuba
- This evening, attend the Havana Jazz Festival Opening event
Full Day Itinerary¡Bienvenidos a La Habana! Upon arrival to Cuba's capital city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, our representative welcomes you with a Friendly Planet sign outside the arrivals terminal at the Havana Airport. Board your air-conditioned vehicle and transfer to your hotel.
Depart for an evening of excitement as you attend the opening Jazz concert.
Day 2 January 27, 2025: Havana
- Visit the community project, Okantomi, to experience a lively Rumba session
- Tour a famous Cuban recording studio
Hotel Grand Aston La Habana or similar Breakfast
Full Day ItineraryVisit the community project Okantomi, which teaches Afro-Cuban and traditional Cuban dance to Cuban youth, where you'll experience a lively Rumba session.
Enjoy lunch on your own before touring one of Cuba’s most prestigious recording studios where some of the island-nation’s most prominent artists record and master their music.
Tonight, enjoy dinner on your own, and later, attend the Jazz Festival performances.
Day 3 January 28, 2025: Las Terrazas
- Visit the Las Terrazas community
- Visit the museum of the late musician Polo Montañez
- Enjoy lunch at Casa Campesino
- Later, attend the Jazz Festival
Hotel Grand Aston La Habana or similar Breakfast & lunch
Full Day ItineraryDepart for Las Terrazas in Pinar del Rio Province, a “must-see” in Cuba known worldwide for its magnificent, scenic beauty. Las Terrazas was founded shortly after the Cuban Revolution in 1959 as a model community, where local farmers, known as campesinos, moved closer together to help each other overcome the hardships of sleeping in huts with thatched roofs, of living without electricity, local schools, or medical services. Later, visit the home and museum of the late Polo Montañez, one of Cuba's most charismatic and beloved musicians, whose original style of mixed genres won him adoring audiences throughout Cuba, Latin America, and even Europe. Stop at the town’s only coffee shop, Café Maria, where she and her family have welcomed visitors for many years and enjoy the “best coffee in the country.” Discuss coffee culture in Cuba and worldwide and how cafes serve as places for social interaction.
Later, visit the art studio of Lester Campa, an internationally acclaimed Cuban artist who lives and works in Las Terrazas. His lavishly detailed paintings reflect the beautiful landscape that surrounds him as well as the environmental impact that man has had on that very landscape.
Enjoy an authentic, country-style lunch prepared and served outdoors at a local farmhouse near Las Terrazas.
Tonight, enjoy dinner on your own, and later, attend the Jazz Festival performances.
Day 4 January 29, 2025: Havana
- Interact with an art connoisseur to learn about the collection at the Museum of Fine Arts
- Visit a music school in Havana
- Tonight, enjoy more Jazz Festival performances
Hotel Grand Aston La Habana or similar Breakfast
Full Day ItineraryThere is no better way to learn about Cuban art than with a local expert! Enjoy the works of acclaimed Cuban artists housed in the Museum of Fine Arts with a local art connoisseur.
Later this afternoon, visit the elementary-level school of music, Guillermo Tomás, in Guanabacoa. Enjoy a Jazz performance by the school's band and participate in a lively exchange of ideas with students and teachers.
Tonight, enjoy dinner on your own, and later, attend the Jazz Festival performances.
See Day 1 of the main tour itinerary for the continuation of your touring program.
Hotel
In the unlikely event that a particular hotel is not available, a similar or better hotel may be substituted.
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Trip Details
- What should I know before I go? We've compiled a comprehensive checklist, including information on how to pay your balance due, flights & transfers, packing & luggage, and more.
- Do I need a visa or other documents? Are there any entry requirements? Travel visas are required for this package. Please review the visa & entry requirements.
- Can I make changes to my trip? Want to upgrade your seats? Depart from another city? Something else? Just ask!
- Can I bring my kids? Are there any age restrictions? To book this package, you must be 18 or older. Your traveling companions must be 8 or older at time of travel.
- Should I purchase travel insurance? Yes! We recommend you purchase travel insurance to help protect you and your travel investment against the unexpected. For your convenience, we offer a plan provided by Travelex Insurance Services.
- What's the fine print? Review the terms & conditions for this package.
- What should I know about Cuba? Check out our guide for practical travel tips, the best time to go, videos, and more.